U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000


Skip to content
Facebook iconYouTube iconTwitter iconFlickr iconLinkedInInstagram

Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations

 
BROCHURE
This brochure is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information
Back to Publication List        
Publication Number:  FHWA-HRT-19-022    Date:  February 2019
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-19-022
Date: February 2019

 

Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center Publications Process

Sharing the results of your highway research with the world

PDF Version (1.1 MB)

PDF files can be viewed with the Acrobat® Reader®

Brochure front page

The Publication Process

1. INTAKE

Providing an intake package is the first step in the publication process. A complete intake package includes the following files at a minimum:

HRTM-20 will review your intake package to confirm receipt of all required materials and CRG compliance. HRTM-20 will notify you if changes are needed before forwarding your document for editing.

Plan Ahead—Are you planning ahead?

  • Budget at least six months for the publication process.
  • Familiarize yourself with the CRG and discuss any possible issues or publication preferences with HRTM-20 before you submit your document for editing.

2. EDITING

Once the initial edit is complete, the editorial contractor will provide you with the following:

Carefully review the editorial notes, revisions, and comments. Accept Track Changes for edits with which you agree. For edits with which you do not agree, provide a comment to the editor stating your position. Reply to all comments.

If your document requires additional editing, subsequent rounds of edit will continue until no outstanding comments or issues remain. Return your completed response files by the editorial contractor's requested date so that your document can stay on schedule.

Checkpoint—Are you ready to submit your response files?

  • Respond to all of the editor's comments in the Microsoft Word files.
  • Revise the main document and the alternative-text captions using Track Changes.
  • Complete the permissions table and obtain any outstanding permissions.

3. LAYOUT AND FINAL APPROVAL

During the final-approval round of edit, the editors will put your document into final layout and provide an Adobe Acrobat PDF. When you receive the final-approval files, you should do the following:

Subsequent rounds of revision will continue until no outstanding comments or issues remain and you grant final approval.

Checkpoint—Are you ready for Public Affairs?

  • All edits completed.
  • Document layout finalized.
  • Final files approved.
  • Foreword approved (if applicable).
  • Public Affairs form signed.

4. OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS REVIEW

Public Affairs must grant approval before any content can be released to the public—either in print or on the web. This review may take up to three weeks.

When HRTM-20 submits your document for Public Affairs review and approval, expect the following:

5. PRINTING AND WEB PUBLICATION

TFHRC research documentation is published online. Some documents may also be printed in hardcopy.

Regarding hardcopy publications, note the following:

Regarding all publications, note the following:

The Marketing and Communications Team

The Marketing and Communications Team (HRTM-20) helps TFHRC researchers publish documents, including TechBriefs, reports, newsletters, manuals, flyers, and more!

Our editors help you create the best, most professional product possible by ensuring that your documents are complete, consistent, and compliant with the Communications Reference Guide (CRG) and your chosen style guide. They also perform the following tasks:

Publication Questions?

HRTM-20 is here to help! Contact Maria Romstedt, TFHRC's publication manager, at the following:

Email: maria.romstedt@dot.gov
Phone: 202-493-3432

For more information about the TFHRC publication process, including the latest version of the Communications Reference Guide (CRG) and other helpful links, please visit our Publication Development Tools page at https://highways.dot.gov/research/publication-tools.

FHWA-HRT-19-022

HRTM-20/02-19(500)E

Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center | 6300 Georgetown Pike | McLean, VA | 22101